


Bonus Tracks

by LizRambler



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21925084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizRambler/pseuds/LizRambler
Summary: Trapped in a hotel in Norway overnight, Rose and Tentoo reconnect by experiencing some new/old memories.
Relationships: Eighth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Fourth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Sixth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, Twelfth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 41
Kudos: 116





	1. Remixed

**Author's Note:**

> This is my offering for A-rose-by-any-other-doctor on Tumblr for the DW Secret Santa. I am so sorry I'm getting down to the wire here. I've written an epic (and will be posting as fast as I can get them edited.)

Chapter 1 - Remixed

NORWAY - BLOODY STUPID COLD BAD WOLF DAY

He looked so like Him. 

Rose sat back, up against the headboard in a small room in Norway. She had managed a quick shower in the cold en suite, cursing the entire time. Her armor had been peeled off and dropped to the floor in puddles of blue, black, and magenta. She didn’t need it anymore tonight. The universe was saved. Dressed in a thin set of pajamas, she watched the new Doctor, her single-hearted Doctor buzzing about. A fire was burning merrily in the fireplace thanks to his industry, backlighting everything with a soft red-gold glow. She was the opposite of energetic yet comforted by his quick movements. He had always been manic. Normal. He was behaving normally. 

Rose wasn’t sure if she was...behaving normally. Exhaustion thrummed threw every muscle, every pore, even the marrow in Rose’s bones felt heavy with exhaustion, the languid weight that held her pinned to the double bed. The only bed in the room. A bed that they were going to share… She and he were going to share. An alcoholic like warmth rushed through her at the thought. It had been ages since she’d shared a bed with anyone. And he wasn’t just anyone… He was the Doctor even if he was down a heart, he still had the gob and a pert little bottom.. Rose smiled softly. He mirrored it, eyes lit with something akin to wonder. Yep. Definitely sharing a bed with that one...if he ever stopped moving. Currently, he was pulling odd and ends out of his pockets. Rose arched a brow at the tiny plastic dinosaur that appeared in his hand like magic. He winked and added the tiny green toy to the mounting pile.

Rose’s mind drifted back to earlier. The beach had been cold, freezing even. The Tardis had left them there shivering. And if that wasn’t the best thing ever, the sky waited just long enough for the other Doctor to break her heart to open up and unleash a storm. Rose had instantly known how Sarah Jane had felt in Aberdeen. The crushing depression threatened to overwhelm her until the meta crisis had become her anchor with his hot slightly more human hand. Rose had kept slipping her gaze to his long, lanky, familiar, form. Every third time he caught her looking. His expression had been hard to read. He had either been smug or terrified or both. Rose had squeezed his hand to reassure one of them, either of them.

Mum had tried hard to get Pete to turn up with hoppers but Pete Tyler was adamant that the weather rolling in (icy rain with a hint of hail) would screw with them and the Doctor had made a face that Rose took as agreement. The trio had trudged off the beach to the small bed and breakfast that Rose had been hoping was going to be nothing but a bad memory. The cozy place filled her with dread. She flashed on the memory of being alone in a room, knowing the Doctor wasn’t coming to save her. 

The Doctor had squeezed her hand. Rose had squeezed back. It was a whole conversation. He told her she wasn’t alone. She told him he wasn’t either. They had grinned. Jackie had rolled her eyes and handed them one single key. The Doctor’s eyebrows went up. Jackie rolled her eyes before leaving them blessedly alone.

“Alright?” Rose had asked.

“Yeah, yes, yes of course,” he had agreed happily. The Doctor had given her a bright boyish grin when she pressed the key into his palm. “Can’t say I want you out of my sight for oh a week.”

“A fortnight at least,” Rose had agreed, devouring each little Doctorish inch of him. His hand in hers was not as hot as a human hand, not as cool as a time lord one. He squeezed and she squeezed back, a hysterical giggle escaping her. 

The pile was growing. He was on the bed now, opposite her, muttering. “That’s useful,” he said putting what looked like a small deck of cards onto the bed. There was already a cricket ball, string, two bananas, two sonic screwdrivers, one the normal one and an older model that looked like something a regular little ‘D’ doctor would check your ears with. No less than three rubber ducks appeared. A bar of soap that she recognized as her favorite from that little pink planet was dropped next to three unlimited credit sticks, a pile of largish diamonds, a box that said, ‘useful things’ in the Doctor’s loose loopy scrawl, and a pair of her hoop earrings. Rose swiped the soap and her earrings. A small protest escaped him as she deposited them onto her nightstand.

“What on Earth are you looking for in there?” Rose asked, letting her body sink back down into the bed, comfy.

Large brown eyes met hers, a worried frown appearing between his eyes. “I took it. I know I did! I slipped it in one of the pockets. I was too busy with other things to remember which… It’s important… for us,” he said cryptically and started rummaging again.

“We need sleep,” Rose suggested, patting the space beside her. 

“Oh,” he paused. “Am I going to need regular sleep now? Like every night now? Woof.” He made a face, prompting a laugh.

“No more superior biology,” she sang.

He scoffed. “Half-human, not even, one-quarter human, Rose. Full of superior body bits. Still all superior biology brains,” he muttered as he rummaged. It was making her mental. “We can figure out my sleeping needs later. Soon as I… Nope.” He dumped a package of crisps into her waiting hands. She opened them and nibbled on them. The bite of vinegar made her grin. He kept on. “I need to make sure. Promise it’s worth it,” he added with a wink.

“Did you leave the… other? Doctor with anything?” Rose asked, careful not to call him anything stupid like ‘original’ or ‘real’ when this Doctor was too Doctory not to be THE Doctor. She did feel a pang of sadness for him, shoving it violently away since that Doctor had left her, er, them behind. She hoped he was happy with his choice. She’d never stop loving him. She didn’t think there was a version of the Doctor out there in the universe that she didn’t or wouldn’t love given half a chance.

“Nope!” he exclaimed. “I got all the good stuff and the best bit.”

“What’s the best bit?” Rose asked, sticking her tongue between her teeth to grin at him.

He beamed, eyes twinkling. They watched each other for a few moments reveling in being together again. Rose wondered if he was thinking about that kiss on the beach as much as she was. A pink tinge hit his cheeks and he averted his gaze back to his pockets. Oh yeah, he was thinking about it.

Rose got up on her knees. “What are we looking for?”

“Surprise, a surprise, it’s probably at the bottom. The best bits are always at the bottom. Prizes in the cereal box, Crackerjacks, jam on most Festoonian desserts… Or in the other pocket. Ow!” He hissed pulling his fingers loose and shaking off a mousetrap.

Laughing, Rose slid into his personal space. His scent was strong and familiar if mixed a bit with wet wool, and burnt electronics. The Doctor held his breath, watching her get closer. He swallowed convulsively. Rose winked, shoving her hand into the opposite pocket, leaning heavily against him. Her fingers were in what felt like Space. His pocket was chilly and massive and things were floating. He grabbed her arm to steady her. She felt for anything interesting. Her fingers gripped something twice but it felt like a fish and wriggled away. The Doctor had wrapped both arms around her, to balance her. 

A weird singing seemed to be humming in the back of her mind. She concentrated on it, opening her hand wide and willing things to come to hand. Something scratchy and warm slipped by. Rose thought it might have been what the Doctor wanted. Reaching again, thinking about the scratchy texture, Rose was surprised when a thick envelope smacked into her palm. She gripped it, pulling it free of his pocket. “This it?”

Rose held up the thick cream envelope. The Doctor’s brows rose in surprise. Keeping one arm wrapped around her, effectively holding her in a half hug, he plucked it from her fingers and turned it over. Swirls like clocks and dots and weird circles with bites out of them decorated the envelope in blue ink. Rose could still hear the singing as he gripped her. It changed and flipped around a bit and Rose got the feeling of intense curiosity pulsing just under his skin. “What is it?”

“No idea,” he replied. “I don’t recall ever seeing this before,” he said, indicating the circles. She had seen them on notes around the Tardis before or on the console. “It’s for you,” he drawled, dragging the words out like taffy.

“How do you know it’s for me?” Rose asked, taking the envelope back.

He shrugged, “It’s my handwriting. I think I can read my own handwriting.”

“What does it say?” Rose asked, eying the swirls.

“Give this to Rose.”

“Oh,” she remarked.

“Oh,” he agreed.

“So, this wasn’t what you were looking for then?” Rose gathered as she moved away from him, to lean against the headboard once more.

The Doctor shook his head no, eyes blazing with curiosity. 

“Should I open it? D’you think?” Rose thought it felt thick. Was it a letter from the other Doctor? 

“Up to you,” he replied as he swept most of the debris from his pockets off the bed. He kept the box of useful things, the bananas, and the sonic screwdrivers. He then sat cross-legged in front of her. “Could be a message from me. Him me… Not me, me.”

“Would that bother you?” she asked, frowning.

He looked away. “Nah. Open it.”

Rose opened the envelope. It was a letter. Rose unfolded the paper carefully. The Doctor’s loopy scrawl appeared in the same blue ink as the clockwork language. 

“Hand the first page to me,” the letter said and under that was his language. A message for him from Him. Wordlessly, she handed it to him. He took it, left brow at maximum arch. He scanned his page, eyes widening in surprise.

“What does it say?” Rose asked.

He waved her off. “Keep reading yours.”

The second page began, “Rose Marion Tyler, I once told you that I was a bit lost until you found me. Now it’s your turn to recover something that was lost. It’s up to you whether you want to know what I know. What you’ve forgotten… You may find at this exact point in time that you are thoroughly done with me. This me, not that me sitting across from you, the lucky sod.”

“I took these memories from you to preserve a few timelines. Want them back? Tell that grinning idiot across from you, ‘yes.’ He’ll know what to do. Also, tell him that it’s in the left-hand pocket but best wait until tomorrow for that. Let him stew in anxiety for a bit. He gets the happy ending. Let me enjoy his discomfort, even though I don’t deserve even that small pleasure from you.”

“Rose,” the Doctor’s voice was soft, “when we erm when we were touching earlier, could you feel me? Not my skin obviously or my jacket… Me. My,” he scratched at his sideburn, “mind? Just now… just then.” 

Rose bit her lip. Was this the question the other Doctor was referring to? “Yes, um, yeah I think so. It was like singing or humming like in the Tardis.”

A magnificent grin lit up the Doctor’s face. “Oh, that’s--that’s brilliant, top-notch, really that’s…” he let out a boyish giggle. “Great. Good. Still telepathic then. Okay,” he glanced down at the paper. 

“What does it say?” Rose asked. “No hang on, what does that mean? Still telepathic?”

“Oh, erm, I wasn’t sure. Some of my senses are still adjusting to this universe and this body. Still fizzing a bit. S’good though means that this,” he held up the paper with its clockwork language, “is a block list.”

Rose’s exhausted brain just fizzled out. “What-?”

Excitement made the Doctor crawl closer to her. “A block list. These words unlock memory blocks. Like keys. Say them in the right place, say the mindscape where they were generated and bam! Unlocked memories! We have blocked memories. Brilliant! We have more memories of us! Who wouldn’t want more memories of us! I love memories of us, honestly, the ones without you are a bit rubbish. This is like the DVD extras of our life! Do you want them?”

“What-?” Rose asked again.

“Do you want them?” The Doctor huffed. “Our new old memories, Rose,” he whined. “Don’t you want to know what they are? Don’t you want the bonus footage?” He reached out and grabbed her hands swinging them out and in. Tingling pings of happiness were slipping into her skin and shooting pink happy sparks into her heart. When she didn’t answer the pinks turned a bit blue. 

“Is that a no?” He let her hands go.

“Wait, I’m tired, and a bit slow here. You’ve erased some of my memories?”

“I haven’t erased anything,” the Doctor exclaimed, insulted. “I would never. That’s incredibly… Never, I would never.” He caught her gaze, holding it, “Not unless the memories meant your death. It’s not done, Rose. That’s never--”

“Blocked then,” Rose said, laying a soothing arm on his shoulders, dragging it up and down.

“Temporarily blocked to prevent paradoxes, probably?” he popped all the ‘p’s and Rose suddenly remembered that she often wanted to strangle him when he got like this. Then laughed because she had missed that feeling and half-forgotten it, buried under other better memories. “What?”

“Jus’ I forgot how exasperating you are,” she exclaimed, suffusing it with fondness.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 

“Do you have to,” she tapped her head.

He nodded, frowning. “Don’t you want me to?”

“Not opposed to it,” Rose said, mulling it over. Her brain was too mushy for all this.

“Yes? Or no. Your choice.” the Doctor said, practically vibrating with interest.

Rose pulled him into a hug. “Yes. As long as I can stay very still.”

“Oh, yes, yeah that would be optimal, actually. Here-”

The Doctor spun them so he was leaning against the headboard. He draped her across his lap, placing a pillow there to cushion her head. Rose was dizzy with how fast she had been rearranged. The Doctor was surprisingly comfy for someone so bony. She kept that thought to herself, grinning as he finger-combed her hair. Rose resisted the urge to purr as warm fingers settled along her temples. A strange staticky buzzing surrounded her thoughts. 

“Alright?” he asked.

Rose grounded herself in the static and little pings of colors and emotions seemed to be buried in it like when she was a kid and the TV fuzzed. “Yeah, yes, go ahead.”

The buzzing smoothed into the edges of her mind. Energy flickered through her in warm spikes and swirls. It was as if she could feel him sinking his fingers down through the skin of her face and down into the bones and past that into the grey matter of her brain. Once there, colors burst into existence and bright feelings of affection. Rose’s own thoughts were lazy with exhaustion and overwhelmed with processing the last few days. She managed a friendly wave for him.

A soothing pulse raced through her. Rose felt her limbs respond by releasing tension. His voice in her head was low and warm. “Here we go. I’ve found the blocks.”

“What do they look like?” Rose asked.

“Like jelly babies,” he remarked. “This is definitely me. I did this. I can undo this.”

“How?”

“One by one with a magic word,” the Doctor said whimsically.

“Open sesame?” Rose offered.

Gently the feeling of mirth suffused her. Rose felt her body relax farther into his. The scent of peppermint and hot chocolate rose around her. The edges of the golden snitch were already cracking and the Doctor whispered the first word into her mind.


	2. Track 1: Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose meets the Eighth Doctor while Dimension Hopping

The word echoed through Rose’s thoughts and it became smoke drifting through her mind. The scent of tea and books and dry air solidified into the twitchy push of the dimension cannon. She could still feel the Doctor’s body cushioning her. She was still prone. She was also quite suddenly lurching into another world.

Rose stumbled to a stop. Breathing in through her nose and out through her nose, until the queasiness passed, she settled into her new surroundings. Flipping on her mike, she announced, “Control, I made it. I’m alright.”

Pete Tyler’s voice was tinny in her earpiece like he inhaled helium. “Where are you? London again?”

Rose stared at the lime green sky and the purple mountains. A rush of excitement set her heart racing. Eagerly, she hopped from foot to foot. “No, s’not Earth.”

“Impossible. The cannon isn’t set to send you off-world, Rose. It’s got to be Earth,” Pete argued.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not Earth, unless it’s far off the prime universe. There’s no sign of human habitations. S’just rocks, orangey purple grass, and a bright green sky. How long have I got, control?”

“Your mother’s going to kill me if she finds out you’re on another planet--Four hours, Rose.”

Disappointed, she argued, “that’s hardly enough time to do anything, Pete.”

“Control, Rose, address me as control. And you know how this works. Just maybe be a bit more cautious this time, alright? For me?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Right. See you in a few hours. I’m going to see if anyone’s home. Out.” 

Rose had been hopping dimensions for weeks now. She was always on Earth and always in London. Some of them had been a bit scary and weird but always recognizable as home, almost home. Walking along the grass, she felt a bit lighter. “Different gravity?” she muttered. “This is going to be a helluva debrief.”

She wandered closer to the rocks. What she had mistaken for shadows were deep caves. The air smelled like diesel fuel drenched in lentils. She sneezed a dozen times getting used to the funky air until she smelled something else. Rose closed her eyes against the breeze. There was a hint of something familiar there. Rose wasn’t sure what to make of it. The scent tickled her senses. Rose was drawn in that direction. The scent thickened. It was tea! Good old English tea! On an alien world? Rose’s heart skipped. It could be a colony from earth hidden behind a perception field or an alien plant that smelled like it, or… Her heart skipped a beat.

“Anyone out here? Olly Olly oxen free!” she shouted.

“Hello?” a voice called, wispy, dry, and definitely masculine.

Rose froze. “Hello?” she called back. “I’m a friend. I won’t hurt ya.”

“I should hope not if you’re a friend,” the voice called back, stronger this time. The accent was English. “What sort of a friend hurts a body?”

“Not a very good one, I reckon.” Rose searched, unable to see him. 

“Here!”

Rose shivered in the warm air. “Where?”

“Here,” he called again. “If you can see the mountain with all the caves in it. I am in the one farthest left on the bottom. Hurry up. I’ve been in here for ages and I’m terribly bored. I don’t suppose you’ve brought a deck of cards with you? Or another pot of tea? I’ve only got the gritty bit of wet leaves at the bottom now.”

Rose beamed. She didn’t know that voice. It wasn’t her Doctor, and yet... The closer she got to the mountain the more the caves looked less like natural pockets and more like jail cells. “How did you get locked up here?” Rose asked approaching the caves on the left. She thought she could see the shadow of a person at the end.

“Oh, you know, manners,” he said airily. “Hold the wrong fork in the wrong hand during the dessert course and end up accidentally toppling a regime or two or twenty. I had words with their high priest about the state of their people while using the fish fork on the cake. Great insult...or something. Took a nasty knock to my head for my troubles. It’s made today a bit… Hm, well, I suppose it’s made today hazy. I remember the cake was delicious. Tasted like cranberries and a sort of not chocolate. I had seconds!”

Rose snorted. She could see him now. Leaning against the bars of his cell, was a man with curly brown hair. A brilliant smile lit up his handsome face as he spotted her. “Hello.”

Rose stalled out. The familiar scent of tea was coming from him as suspected but along with that, there was a distinctive scent of Tardis. Rose dragged her hand along the bars evaluating him. “Dressed in crazy clothing, locked up for bad manners, rambles on to strangers, smells like home…Two helpings of dessert. You must be the Doctor!”

“You’ve heard of me, I’m flattered. Also, vaguely insulted.” He leaned forward treating her to bright blue eyes, not the same shade as her first Doctor, more like the ocean. “Whose home do I smell like, I wonder? You’re a curious young woman. I feel… wait, you haven’t just heard of me. You *know* me.” The Doctor hummed in a heartbreakingly familiar way. Rose just wanted to snog that puzzled look off of his face. “Or do I know you? No! No, no, I see! I WILL know you. Is that correct? Oh, I always enjoy meeting people out of turn. Gives me the edge at parties.” 

Rose’s face was going to crack from the smiling. “I don’t know what to tell you, Doctor. I don’t want to cause a paradox.”

Delighted, he reached through the bars to shake her hand. “Oh, anything, everything. My people have a way of locking troublesome memories away until needed. You needn’t worry about that. Besides, Romana has a platoon of Timelords who just sit around all day monitoring me to make sure I don’t accidentally restart the Big Bang… again.” He made a face.

Rose broke into hysterical giggles. Covering her mouth, she turned away to contain her tears. Here he was! She’d found him. Her lovely, ridiculous Doctor, only not. If the Timelords were still alive, then Rose was much too early. She sniffed. 

“Don’t be upset, please, I couldn’t bear it.” he crooned.

Rose’s eyes prickled. She gave him a watery smile. “I’m too early.”

His long face fell. “No, no crying! Please, no it’s alright if you’re early. Early is better than late! Perfect timing from where I sit.”

Rose nodded. The Doctor was right. At least she wasn’t too late. There was still time to stop the stars from going out. Plus, here was a rare glimpse at the Doctor before the war. Steeling herself, she met his not-the-right-shade-of-blue eyes.

He stared at her, gaze unfocusing a bit, “Come on Rose Tyler, you’ve found me. Chances are you’ll find me again later… I think. Yes, later before on time,” he blinked, focusing on her face, and said with a laugh, “Listen to me, I’m speaking nonsense.”

“Yeah, that’s--” Rose stopped short of saying, ‘normal for you.’ It wasn’t exactly. “No, hang on, did you just call me Rose Tyler?”

“Did I?” He was the picture of innocence.

“I never told you my name…”

He stared at her, winked.

“Where’s the Tardis?” Rose asked, changing tack. 

“Um, on the moon? I think.” His puzzled face filled her with warmth, the same man, same confused expression.

Rose’s heart ached and the urge to kiss him increased. Rose squeezed the bars to resist leaning closer. The Doctor’s eyes dipped from her eyes to her lips before flicking back up to her face. He licked his lips. “Can you--”

“Hm?” Rose liked this Doctor’s lips. She wondered idly if she could get him to pout. 

“Let me out?” he rumbled, voice low.  
“Oh, oh! Yeah, yep,” Rose remarked unable to stop an embarrassing chuckle from escaping her. She glanced away and felt his cool hand grip hers around the bar. Rose’s eyes snapped back to his. He smirked. Rose rolled her eyes. He squeezed her hand and used his index finger to point. “There’s a keypad.”

Recessed into the rock, she found the keypad. The symbols on it were like runes with funny hats. “Don’t suppose you know the code, Doctor?”

“Alas, no. I woke up in here nursing a head wound. I've got a knot.” He touched the top of his head, wincing. “Still, there are only 10,000 possible combinations. Can’t take more than a few days to work out.” 

“I’ve got less than four hours. Don’t suppose you have a sonic screwdriver handy?”

“Sonic screwdriver,” he muttered patting his pockets. “Yes! I have!” 

Rose bit down another giggle. The way he bounced around like he didn’t have a care in the world. He was a big outer space puppy in a velvet frock coat, ridiculous. He handed over the sonic, taking the time to run his hand against hers. Rose mock glared at him. His expression was all innocence and light. Rose focused on the screwdriver, hiding her smirk. The metallic tube was a comfortable weight in her palm. The settings were the same. The casing different than she was used to with its weird circular end and red center bit. 

“Setting 221, I think. Point and press the button,” he encouraged.

The gate buzzed and popped open. The Doctor raced out of the cave and lifted her up. Rose squealed as he spun her in a circle, laughing. Rose kicked her feet merrily and he dropped her to the ground. The gravity was definitely lighter than Earth, Rose practically bounced after touching down. The Doctor took his sonic back, flipped it and made it vanish into an inner pocket. 

“My hero,” the Doctor said. “What was your name?”

“You said it earlier,” Rose pointed back to the cave, “when you were in there. Don’t you remember?”

“I...did? Was it a spooky premonition moment? I can’t really hold onto that information. It’s just whoosh,” the Doctor shrugged.

“Rose,” Rose said and shoved her hands into his lovely cinnamon locks. The Doctor looked like he was going to protest before letting out a pleased noise. Rose gently touched his scalp until she reached the edges of the knot. He winced. He didn’t pull away. Rose rewarded him by gently massaging the scalp near the injury before letting go. His eyes were closed. They opened slowly when he realized she’d stopped. Rose couldn’t help grinning at him. “I-ah, I think you have a concussion.”

“You’ll have to mind me then.” He stared at her, amused. “At least for the next three hours and twenty minutes. For safety.”

“For safety?”

“Mm,” he agreed. “I need a chaperone back to my Tardis. You have the time. You’ve said as much. Will you take me home, Rose?”

“Did you just--No, nevermind.” Rose shook her head, cheeks hot. “Yeah, you definitely need a chaperone. C’mon Doctor, let’s get you to the Tardis.” She reached out her right hand and wiggled her fingers.

He entangled their fingers, swinging their joined hands. “How do you propose getting me to my Tardis? Do you have a ship?” the Doctor asked, glancing up. 

Rose followed his gaze. The sun, a pale mint green in the lime green sky was sinking fast. Just above the horizon, the moon was peeping out. “No ship,” she sang out. “No transmat. No vortex manipulator…”

“I should think not, those things are a disaster for the vortex. Causing all sorts of holes and potholes… dirty method of travel. Cheap.” The Doctor grumbled. “I once got my Tardis trapped in one of their holes, nearly fell out of the vortex into E Space. Messy, stupid people movers. I shouldn’t wonder if it’s the reason she never goes where I want her to go.” Tugging her along behind him, the Doctor took off at a brisk pace away from the mountains. “We’ll do what the locals do, we’ll hitch a lift at the way station.” 

Rose let him drag her along, enjoying the feel of the Doctor’s hand in hers. The scent of him was overpowering the naturally occurring scent of lentils. Which reminded her… “Why does this planet smell like lentils?”

The Doctor was brought up short. “You know you’re right! It does reek of lentil soup. I suppose it’s the natural odor of the place. No wonder everyone works on the moon. It smells pleasantly of pine. How did you get here if you have no obvious means of travel? Astral projection? Apparate?”

“Still with the Harry Potter references, then,” Rose snorted. “You’re going to make yourself forget this, yeah?” He nodded curls bouncing enthusiastically. “I have this, well back home there’s this sort of cannon. It tosses me into dimensions.” Rose pulled the device from around her neck. “Needs a few hours to charge. Each place I land it gives me a bit of time before I’m pulled back to where I came from.”  
“Hm,” he remarked and resumed dragging her along, next to him this time. “What’s wrong with Harry Potter? No, hang on, you said ‘back where you came from.’”

Rose bit her lip. “Did I?”

“Yes, back where you came from, not home. Where are you from, Rose Tyler? Your accent says London. The artron energy around you says time travel and you said I smell like home. You’re one of my companions! Yes, you are, you travel with me. And wherever you go back to isn’t where you’re from.” The Doctor beamed.

“I’m sort of, well, until recently I was trapped there.” 

“And you’re looking for me because you want to go home? I can take you anywhen, anywhere in the universe. Let me take you home.” He offered blue eyes twinkling. 

They climbed a hill. Below them, a futuristic city was laid out. The homes were bright white with yellow windows. Domes covered little areas of purple foliage. In the center of town was a tower with a large arrow pointing up. “See? There’s the town of Cahoots, funny name I know but that’s not what it means in their language. It means pizza.”

“Making that up,” Rose accused.

He winked. Rose’s heart threw itself at him, only stopped by the bones of her ribcage. He squeezed her fingers and caressed the inside of her wrist. “Maybe. But if we go to that tall building there, we can get sent up to the moon. Shouldn’t take us long to walk there. Am I doing alright? No slurring?”

“No slurring,” Rose remarked after a pause. “How’s your vision?”

He stared at her face. “My view is lovely. I’m almost disappointed I’m not seeing double.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “You’re awful.”

“I really am. It’s the lack of tea. Can’t go so long without it.” The Doctor led her into town. 

By the time they reached the tower, Rose’s watch beeped. “Oh, my time’s almost up.”

“Oh no, and we were just getting to know one another.” The Doctor pouted. “Sure you wouldn’t like a lift home in the Tardis? She can go to whatever dimension you choose.”

Her heart dropped. Could she? Could she just take a lift with this Doctor to the other? “If something big happened, what would the Timelords do to protect the universe from it?”

“Easy, they’d timelock it. No one in, no one out. They’ve never had cause to use an expansive one. Just a solar system here and there. The people inside go on as if nothing happened… Rose? What happens in my future that is so big?”

“You get to kiss me.”

Distracted, the Doctor turned a delightful shade of pink. “I--yes, well, erm that’s something to look forward to…” he stammered, catching her free hand so he could hold both between them. “Rose… tell me…”

“I can’t take the risk,” Rose whispered. “It’s too important that your future stays intact.”

“Rose,” he scoffed.

“No, it’s too important.”

The pink in his cheeks intensified to an almost brick red. “Oh,” he drawled, swinging their hands, “I suppose we will meet again soon since I am who you’re looking for after all.”

“Are you?” Rose raised her eyebrows.

“I should hope so. I’d be disappointed if you were searching for someone else.”

Rose looked into his blue eyes. He tugged her to him. Rose went willingly. The Doctor pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight. There was so much he was going to go through soon. Rose tried to fill him with as much of her warmth as she could. He responded, tightening her grasp. 

He pulled back when her watch beeped again. “How long?”

“Ten seconds,” Rose whispered.

“See you in my future, Rose Tyler.” The Doctor kissed her, his cool lips pressing against hers fervently before he let her go. Rose felt the pull as Pete called her home.


	3. Track 2: Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Dimension Hopping Rose meets the Fourth Doctor for drinks and dancing.

Rose’s eyes opened. Sitting up, she turned to view the Doctor’s dark eyes. He was blinking as the connection between them was severed by her quick movements. “Oh, that was,” the Doctor murmured.

“You kissed me!” Rose exclaimed, giggling. “It took you forever to kiss me the first time and that version of you did it in less than four hours.”

“Well, I was a bit of a flirt, in that incarnation.”

“In *that* incarnation?” Rose asked, brows arching. 

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “I’m not always… so…”

“What?”

“Interested in all that… romance… It’s unusual.” Awkwardly, the Doctor tugged on his ear, not bothering to get up from his position against the headboard. “Timelords aren’t… we don’t do romance. I mean they didn’t. I sometimes…”

Rose covered his mouth. “It’s okay. I liked it.”

The Doctor huffed warm breath against her hand. Rose snorted, removing her hand before he decided to lick her palm. His eyes twinkled with mischief as if he had been thinking of licking her palm and was a bit thwarted by her moving it away. 

“Alright,” Rose said, turning around and laying back against him. “Ready for the next one?”

His fingers resumed their place against her temples. “Oh, erm, this one’s mine, I think, not yours… You may remember it already.”

“How do you know?” Rose asked, enjoying the closeness and the heat radiating from him as they basically cuddled. “Is there a note on it or something?”

“No, it feels like me, like a memory from the one with the scarf… Only way to find out is to open it up.” He wiggled his fingers, tickling her. She puffed out a breath in annoyance but she didn’t mean it. He ignored it anyhow, pressing until she felt his mind swirling around hers again, an excited feeling rushing through him as he whispered the next word on his list.

Rose felt irritation filling her up, plus a healthy dose of ego and her brain was almost flooded with thousands of lines of thought. The feeling was tamped down apologetically, as Rose temporarily became the Doctor on Earth somewhere in the early 80s? Or late 70s? The Doctor hadn’t been paying attention to the time ironically. 

“Absolutely not! I’m a Timelord! Not some Cigarette Rep from Leeds,” the Doctor shouted.

Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart’s eyebrows quirked up, making his ridiculous mustache quiver like a particularly annoying rabbit. The Doctor stuffed his hands into his pockets awkwardly, wondering if shouting a bit more would help. It did, sometimes. Sheepish, he hunched his shoulders. “I won’t go,” he said petulantly. “Sarah’s not going. I have a working time machine now and I don’t work for you anymore, so there.” 

“Doctor, this isn’t a sales summit. The top scientists are all meeting in London to mingle and garner money for various projects,” the brigadier said, tone patronizing and long-suffering.

The Doctor huffed. 

“And as much as it pains me to say so with your enormous ego, you are the most intelligent scientist on Earth,” he continued as if the Doctor was not sulking. “I realize Miss Smith is unavailable since I was the one who sent her out to cover the story in Aberdeen. UNIT needs the backing. We’re seriously lacking in budget here.”

The Doctor had noticed the drop off in biscuit selection lately around the HQ. He didn’t like that one bit. And… he had nothing on. Just… waiting around to convince Sarah to take another jaunt into Time and Space. “Why should I care about money?” he demanded, determined not to give in easily. He couldn’t let the brigadier know he could be persuaded by biscuits. It was undignified.

“We both know you have nothing to do but wait for Miss Smith to come back…”

“Not true!” he shouted. (It was.) “Patently untrue!” he boomed. “Oh fine! Perhaps one of the scientists will be a megalomaniac. Worth a look, eh? Sh!” he put his finger against his lips to forestall the brigadier. “I want double the pay for this. Put it in Sarah’s account. She knows what I like. And I will drive myself.”

“Fine. But you’ll take a car. I don’t want you taking off in that box of yours and missing the meeting by several decades.”

“Fine,” the Doctor agreed, hand out for the invitation. “It’s a lovely day for a drive.” He beamed.

He stormed out of the office for good measure. Very soon he was going to cut ties with this place. His feet were itchy. Sarah’s were too. She was a good one for his life. Shame Harry would probably balk but not everyone was cut out for a nomadic lifestyle. Trailing his long multi-colored scarf behind him, he stalked out to his yellow roadster.

The road was empty as he cruised along muttering about all the planets he was going to show to Sarah Jane Smith. Clom, the Eye of Orion, Calibris, oh yes, a pirate planet would be a lovely trip! He needed some backup fluid links, the damned things were always evaporating on him. So wrapped up in his musings, he nearly hit the young woman who blinked into existence a foot in front of his car. The Doctor was a marvelous driver if he did say so himself, and managed to cut the wheel hard enough to avoid injuring her. He didn’t miss the ditch on the side of the road, however. Slamming the car into park, he stared. She had stumbled forward as if he had run straight into this dimension. The energy around her smelled like ozone and artron. Her timelines were an absolute labyrinth. He closed his timesenses before a migraine could set in. “Well, aren’t we a complicated event in space-time,” he exclaimed.

She turned to face him. Slight with blonde hair, her large eyes locked onto him and her generous mouth pulled up into a charmingly delightful devil-may-care grin. “Sort of, yeah,” she agreed with a laugh. “I’m looking for a friend.”

“Are you indeed?” the Doctor wondered aloud. “My friend is in Aberdeen.”

She snorted. She was dressed in clothes reminiscent of the 2000s with her dark, form-fitting trousers, pink top and indigo leather jacket. She had a utilitarian black backpack on and something about her stance reminded him of a dancer or a martial artist. “I’m not sure my friend knows the difference between Hyde Park and Aberdeen.”

What a curious creature! What a strange sentence to utter? He made a face, considering. “It looks as if we’re both short a friend for today. I suppose that means we should join forces. I’ve got to go to a boring event full of clever people who are alas, not as clever as me. Care to accompany me? I’ve been told there will be nibbles.” The Doctor extended the invitation in the hope of learning more about this curious creature. “Unless you’re part of the vanguard for an invasion fleet? No? Pity.”

Her grin tugged at his hearts. She came closer, examining his car. “Retro,” she commented, petting Bessie. He offered her a hand. She clasped it and allowed him to help her into the car. Her skin was warm, calloused and let him know she ran a bit hot and had enough artron energy inside her small form to power a Rutan ship for several months. A wash of comfort ran through him when she squeezed his fingers before releasing them. 

Confused he focused on getting the car out of the ditch and back onto the road. 

“I’m from London, originally,” she offered after a few minutes of open road. “This one I think, although it looks a bit...80’s right now.” She made a face and shrugged. 

“I’m the Doctor,” he offered. “But I have a feeling you might know me, already.”

Her smile was enigmatic. “I suspected what with the scarf. You really love your layers, don’t you Doctor?” she asked and ran a hand down his scarf, giving it a playful tug.

“I’m not unfamiliar with the phenomena of meeting people before you’ve met them. I’m a time traveler after all,” the Doctor told her. “It’s practically in the brochure. Ah ha. And believe me, I’m sure I will enjoy making your acquaintance again in the future but until such time as time rights itself or rewrites itself, what shall I call you? It’s simply rude to keep addressing you in my head as young woman and out loud, even more so...”

“And you’re never rude,” she said solicitously and the Doctor got the distinct impression that this young woman was mocking him. “Sorry Doctor, you’re right. You can call me Rose, erm, Smith.”

“Smith?” the Doctor snorted. “That’s perfect. I often go by John Smith when I’m undercover.”

“S’good name, Smith. Had a few good friends named Smith in my time. Love the curls by the way.” Rose reached out a hand and looped one of his curls around her finger. The Doctor’s eyes widened in surprise. She winked. “We can pretend to be a couple. For your party...”

He fell silent. Rose stayed in his personal space, comfortable with him in a way that made him a bit uncomfortable in how not uncomfortable it was. Her presence seemed to sooth an ache in his hearts he wasn’t aware of having. Curious. “Is that what we are in the future? A couple?”

Rose’s expression was solemn. “You tell me, Doctor Smith.”

“Aaahhh, Mrs. Smith, you intrigue me,” he bantered back. 

Silence reigned as the Doctor took them to the hotel on the invitation. Rose opened her bag, searching through it. She pulled out a simple black dress and a pair of basic kitten heels. She slipped her jacket off and tossed the dress on over her magenta top, then while his eyes tried to stay on the road, she removed the top leaving her in the dress and trousers. She settled the black fabric into place and shucked the trousers. 

“Stockings,” he said.

“Right,” Rose said and pulled a nude pair out of her back. She shimmied into them and had her shoes on in seconds. Her hair was up in a loose chignon by the time they reached the valet. Her eyes which were the most delicate shade of amber with flecks of green and gold twinkled when he hopped out and offered her a hand down. She left her bag in the car. 

They approached the lobby and the Doctor brandished his invitation. “Doctor, and Mrs. Smith, UNIT.” The man barely glanced at the invitation before letting them inside. His eyes had been glued to Rose’s assets. Rose rolled her eyes and hooked an arm through his. The Doctor felt a frizzle of anger toward the man who let them in. Rose squeezed his bicep.

“Dimensional traveler, who has a bag full of occasional wear, Rose Smith, I think I’ve married well.” he teased.

Rose’s eyes were on the swirl of people. Many were dressed in dresses similar to hers. The men wore suits and some had the nerve to wear bowties! The Doctor wasn’t interested in changing his frock for the brigadier’s stuffy friends. She grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and offered him one. “Is it Christmas?” Rose asked.

“Near enough, it’s the thirteenth of December,” the Doctor replied then spotted a familiar face. “Harry! Over here.”

Harry Sullivan waved. Rose’s eyes sparkled with interest as the naval doctor extricated himself from a conversation with a few men in ill-fitting suits to approach them. “Doctor, old boy, how did the brigadier convince you to come to this convention of stuffed shirts?”

“Nibbles,” Rose exclaimed and pointed, her accent becoming a bit more London as she went on, “He told you there would be nibbles and you couldn’t resist, c’mon, admit it, Doctor!” She sipped her champagne, giggling. He arched his brows at her.

“She’s got you there, old boy,” Harry said giving Rose a once over, no doubt wondering where Sarah was. The trio had been inseparable lately. “And you are?”

“Harry Sullivan, this is Rose. She’s not local.”

“Shows what you know, mate. My job is going to be built down the street from here in a few years,” she whispered.

“Oh, oh,” Harry remarked stupidly. “Charmed.”

Rose grinned and let Harry take her hand and kiss the knuckles. “You’re adorable.”

“Rose,” he grumbled and just like that Rose slipped her arm back through his. 

Harry looked between the Doctor and Rose. “No hope of an invasion tonight, is there?”

The Doctor scanned the crowd. There were a few Zygons pretending to be scientists but nothing too sinister. “No,” he said in his most dolorous tone. 

“Well then, I’m going to mingle, eh? Get those UNIT coffers filled. Nice to meet you, Rose. Doctor, don’t go anywhen without me.” He winked.

The Doctor perked up. “Oh no, of course not Harry.”

“I’ll see you when the old girl gets back?” he asked.

Positively giddy at the prospect of Harry traveling with them, the Doctor bobbed his head. “If she hears you calling her that, you may never get the chance to travel with us.”

Harry laughed and swirled away into the crowd. He was immediately absorbed into a large group of scientists and doctors. Rose had grabbed gingerbread man off a tray and bit its head off. The scent of ginger made him a bit lightheaded. She offered him a bite and smirked.

They socialized. Rose was knowledgeable, friendly, and talked pennies out of pockets like an heiress. The Doctor was broiling with curiosity. Her skin was flushed a bit with drink. Her giggling was louder and more adorable now. She kept offering him ginger laced things. They ate at Harry’s table and he regaled Rose with stories from the navy and in low tones about how he met the Doctor. Rose whispered something to him that made Harry nod enthusiastically and whisper back something that had Rose in stitches. Jealousy wormed around in his stomach. It was a foreign emotion. He shook his head to clear it and snapped at an archeologist. 

Rose’s hand slipped into his under the table. The beast within was soothed. The Doctor’s confusion grew. Rose offered him a smile with her tongue caught between her teeth and his hearts raced. Confused, he glanced away from her and tried to open his senses to her again. The timelines were a mangled nightmare around her. Some of the lines snapped and snarled back. Dizziness crept up his spine. Rose pinched him. “Not here. You’ll get a headache.”

He nodded. She offered him a piece of spice cake. Rose smirked. He could smell the ginger in it. The conversation flowed around them so he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “why are you trying to get me drunk?” 

“I want to dance,” Rose said offered, her eyes too bright. “I thought… you might if you were a bit… stupid. Sorry. S’just, I know you’re not the right You for me but you’re still You and I missed this.” A glimpse of pain and sadness appeared in those fathomless amber eyes before the flecks swirled and Rose was smiling again. “Stupid.”

“I’m an excellent dancer,” he offered.

“I’ve never seen you dance,” Harry said in surprise. “I haven’t! Mind you, I have seen him jump rope in a harlequin costume so I wouldn’t put it past him.” 

Rose’s laugh was genuine. The Doctor beamed. He swiped a gingerbread man off a biscuit tray and nibbled on an arm. “On Sarton X the people are made of shoganals. Eating gingerbread there is tantamount to cannibalism.”

A fond look crossed Rose’s features. The warmth of it spread from her to him. The music kicked up. They stood. The Doctor offered her his arm and Rose came to him. They drifted out to the dance floor. Swaying gently to the music, the ginger increased the warmth he was feeling as the human woman in his arms acted as if she belonged there.

“How long have you been looking for me, Rose?” he asked.

“All my life,” she teased, side-stepping the question. “Really Doctor, you know better than to ask about your future.”

“How about now? How long are you staying here?” he asked. “In this time or dimension?”

Rose leaned against him, her head against his chest. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she was smelling him. “Two hours left, then I try again tomorrow to find you.”

“You’ve found me. I’m right here.” the Doctor said practically. “I can take you to me.”

Rose’s eyes lit up then faded. “I’m sure you would tell me that I can’t mess with your timeline. I could change things so that we never meet.”

“Pfaw, I would never,” he grumbled, knowing she was right. “The risk is slight. My Tardis could take you to his Tardis.”

“I’d end up in Aberdeen,” she muttered. “No. I have to find the right you, in the right time. What if this dimension is the wrong one? I can’t take the risk.” Rose was so close that they were hugging more than dancing.

“Nonsense, dimensional travel is as simple as setting the stabilizers… As long as those idiots on Gallifrey don’t decide to detour us, we could be there in minutes, seconds. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve met myself…”

Rose didn’t respond. She just let him move her around the floor. 

“Who are you to me?” the Doctor asked in a hushed tone. 

She shrugged. “Can’t we just enjoy the party?”

They ended up on the roof. Rose had retrieved her bag from the car. He would be going back to UNIT alone. She had a few minutes left. He watched her. “I barely know you and I can’t help wanting to keep you here,” he confessed.

Rose was wearing his scarf. She’d had to loop it around her neck several times and it still trailed on the ground. “Oh, you’ll be alright. Sarah Jane will take care of you.”

“Sarah’s my best friend,” the Doctor said warmly even though he had barely thought about her after picking up Rose. Now the image of Sarah in his scarf superimposed itself over Rose and he felt a pang of annoyance with himself. 

“Oh, I know,” Rose replied with a knowing smirk.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Doctor asked, reaching for her. “Tell me something about you…”

She glanced at her watch. “Oh, what the hell! I’ve still got a minute to go.” Rose dove into his arms. Rising up on tiptoes, she pressed warm lips against his. Surprised, he wrapped his long arms around her, practically lifting her up so she could continue kissing him. The pleasant warmth he’d been feeling all night exploded into a confusing array of emotions and feelings. Her lips were smooth, soft, and hot against his cooler ones. The taste of ginger hit him and the crisp bite of the champagne as she deepened the kiss, her fingers sliding into his curls to ravage them. Hearts racing, he hadn’t expected a kiss to unsettled him. 

She let go just as his respiratory bypass kicked in. Laughing, she unlooped the scarf and wrapped it back around him. Her cheeks were a delightful pink, lips swollen and eyes practically glowing golden. “That’s all you need to know about me,” she said.

“That good?” 

“It’s gonna be fantastic.” 

Rose faded away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments. 2 maybe 3 more parts to go.


	4. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the Doctor have a few quiet moments

“Need a rest?” the Doctor asked, letting go of her mind for a minute.

Rose turned to face him. “Your brain! How do you keep all that stuff in? S’just, I couldn’t have half those thoughts without my brains leaking out of my ears. You were thinking about pudding while doing maths and trying to figure me out and I was eugh… Tinkerbell.”

He laughed. “One thought at a time? That’s mindfulness and it’s healthy. You were half handling it before, I decided to control the flow a bit. I know it’s a bit more ocean of consciousness than stream but I am a Timelord after all.” The Doctor sniffed reflexively and Rose pinched him. “Oi! Why?”

“Ego,” Rose sang. 

The Doctor reached out and pinched her arm. Rose squealed, falling away from him, giggling. He chased her fingers wiggling. Rose used her Torchwood training to flip him. Luckily the bed was big enough for her to flip and pin him, not flip him off the bed. Rose grinned down at him. “Whose impressive now?”

“You,” he said breathlessly, “always you.” 

“Good, remember that.”

“I do, I will… Rose… let me up. I don’t think either one of us is ready for my slightly more human reactions to being pinned beneath you, as lovely and impressive as you are.” His ears turned red and his cheeks pink. “Especially since I just regained a very real, very vivid memory of you snogging the daylights out of me. I felt floaty for days. No idea why. Maddening.”

Snorting, she took pity on him and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. Boneless now, the Doctor stared up at her with warm eyes, a hint of a smile lingering around the corners of his mouth. Rose backed off, giving him some space even as she enjoyed his reaction. It had always been her breathless and wanting. Now… Rose’s grin turned feral. 

She flopped down onto her stomach. “Can we take a nap? God, I’m so…” Rose broke off as a jaw cracking yawn escaped her. The Doctor gave her an annoyed look as he mirrored her action. “I’ve been awake for days and I’m not a Timelord.”

“I am and am not a Timelord,” he remarked, thoughtfully. “Let’s sleep a bit. I could sleep a bit. Regeneration and telepathy take a lot of effort. Can we, can I-?” The Doctor’s eyes were darkening as he opened his arms to her.

Rose slipped into his arms, laying her head on his chest to listen to his single lonely heart. His arms came up around her, pressing her closer. “Feels right, the double pulse,” he murmured into her hair.” She felt his heart slow as he relaxed. “Ten minutes, four hours at max… A cat nap.”

A snore escaped him.

Rose woke to find the Doctor had managed to cover them in a blanket. She was broiling in their little cocoon. She wriggled to free a foot, unwilling to let him go. The temperature change was lovely. The Doctor smelled amazing and she had somehow nuzzled the collar of his shirt down and her nose was touching his collar bone. She hummed in appreciation and felt his chest move as he giggled silently. “Awake?”

Rose made a noncommittal noise.

“Ah, how I love my morning hating Rose Tyler. She who loves waffles but not the general waffle hours,” the Doctor said, voice brimming with amusement. “We should order waffles. I am craving them. I hope they have multiple types of syrup…”

“How long?” Rose managed, mind foggy. She had been dreaming of a giant rabbit wearing a wolf’s head and everyone had candy. “Sleeping?”

“Three hours, thirty-two minutes, twenty-seven seconds,” he remarked cheerfully. “Timesense is online and working, lovely. I felt adrift without it. ‘Course now it feels like it’s ticking down to the big ‘D’ but it’s morning, time for new beginnings, not morbid underpinnings.”

Rose loosened her grip on him, to run her hand down his face. “No. Talk. No,” she grumbled. “Too many words.”

“I would be offended. I really would, if I hadn’t ordered waffles for two and well, a whole pot of hot tea. I remember what mornings are like with you around.”

“No mornings on the Tardis,” Rose heard herself saying. She froze. Would mentioning the Tardis upset him? He was separated from her and she had just been stupidly insensitive. A rush of adrenaline cleared the sleep right out of her. She pulled back from him in time to see his eyes. 

“Quite right,” he replied and climbed out of the bed. Rose wanted to reach out for him but he was on his way to the door. He popped the door open as the cart trundled to a halt. He muttered something in Norwegian that made the woman laugh and wheeled the cart inside. The baked sugar scent of waffles drifted lazily around him, trumped by the tea. He fixed her cup and deposited it in her waiting hands. “Let’s eat.”

Rose sipped her tea caffeine slipping into her bloodstream. “Oh, this is gorgeous!”

The Doctor’s mouth was stuffed full of waffle, so he, of course, talked around it, “No, these are gorgeous! They have little syrup traps! Brilliant! When do you want to start again? On the memory thing? There’s only two left.”

“Um, as soon as we’re done eating. Mum will have us on the first zeppelin she can book, so figure 10 am.”

“We’ve hours! Here, eat this.” The Doctor poured a generous amount of syrup onto her plate and handed it to her. “S’better warm!”  
“Sorry, I mentioned the Tardis earlier,” Rose muttered. 

The Doctor paused, the latest bite of syrupy waffle just centimeters from his face. His expression shifted to genuine puzzlement. “Why would you be sorry about that?”

“Well, you’re here, and she’s with him and I thought it might be a bit soon, insensitive.” Rose played with her waffle, stabbing it with her fork. “You’re all… homeless.”

The Doctor ate his waffled, chewing thoughtfully. “Yeah, but I was kinda hoping to shack up with you. If that’s okay? Last time I was homeless you did offer to share. If you remember.” He kept his eyes on his plate.

“Yeah,” Rose agreed, “I did.”

“S’alright if you don’t-” he began.

“I do,” Rose interrupted.

“Do you though?” he asked, giving her a way out.

“‘Course, don’t be stupid.” Rose caught his gaze. “Stuck with me, remember?”

“Yeah, s’not so bad,” he agreed, his wide boyish grin appearing like sunshine. “I’ve missed that adorable snore...It’s like a Zeuuooosian mating call. Very comforting.” The Doctor cheerfully went back to eating, ignoring her indignant squawk. 

“Changed my mind, you have to go live with mum,” Rose teased, tearing into her breakfast.

“No, no, no, nononono Rose,” he protested, flecks of waffle and syrup flying. “I let you live with me for years rent-free. It’s only fair that you return the favor…”

“Fine, for two years, rent-free, then you’re off to the mansion. Mum has a wing of her own. I’m sure you could sleep in the guestroom closest to her…” 

“No, no, no, cruelty thy name is Rose Tyler!”

“You have two years to plead your case, don’t waste it.” Rose polished off her breakfast as he gawped at her before settling into a smugness that was too thick to be ignored. “I’m serious.”

“Oh, I know,” he agreed.

A knock startled them. Rose moved to grab her gun and froze, she didn’t have one. The Doctor arched a brow. She rolled her eyes at him.  
“Rose, Doctor, are you up? There’s a zeppelin leaving in twenty minutes. I want to be on it. Tony’s been without his mum for days, poor mite. I need to get home.” 

Rose hopped up and opened the door. “Yeah, we’re up.”

“Good, you’re feeding him,” Jackie stated. “He’s too thin, even thinner than I remember the other one being. You aren’t going to go into a coma, are you?”

Rose glared. “Mum!”

“Well, the other one did and he’s him, isn’t he? I half thought I was gonna find him tucked up in bed like the last one. You look alright, bit peaky.”

“Oi, I am not peaky! In perfect condition, mint condition, so--,” the Doctor growled.

Rose arched a brow at him. “Sounding a bit, Donna.”

He shut his mouth with an audible click. Rose turned back to her mother. “Mum, he’s fine. We stayed up talking.”

“Talk on the zeppelin. Down in the lobby both of you, ten minutes, sweetheart. And you, hop to it.” 

Rose closed the door. “The memories will have to wait. We’ve got to catch a lift home. Oh, and the letter said you’d find what you were looking for in your left-hand pocket. Figured it would bug you unless I told you…”

The Doctor’s face lit up. “Wonderful!”

His good mood lasted until Jackie started in on him about jobs and clothes and jobs. The Doctor looked as if he’d swallowed a lemon tree. Rose glared hot pokers at her mother who ignored it to ask the Doctor what his intentions toward Rose were. The Doctor tapped a foot impatiently. The zeppelin line up with the steps and he bounded forward, stopping long enough to grab her hand. Rose let him drag her along. Jackie had to trot to keep up with them.

His need to explore got him banned from the cockpit in exactly two minutes into the flight. Rose watched him sulk at the back of the ship before she took pity on him and dropped down next to him. She offered him a banana. He took it with a brief grateful nod and munched it angrily. “I only wanted to know what it was filled with and how they stabilized it if it was helium or hydrogen. I didn’t want you on a potential Hindenburg.” 

“Helium,” Rose told him. “I asked too. First trip and I found out there wasn’t a Hindenburg because the people here were smart enough to use Helium. Also, it’s more abundant here. No explosions at all. The things just bounce off each other in flight. S’weird.” 

The Doctor settled down and dropped the banana peel behind him into a convenient bin. Rose lifted the divider between them. “What’s wrong?”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I was on a bus, a while back, ages ago now, it was a tough trip. Been a bit claustrophobic since then… Only on transports that remind me… of that...transport. This smells the same somehow and it’s not a conscious decision.” He kept facing forward, not meeting her gaze. The tension from his jaw infected the rest of him, making him all sharp angles. 

Rose laid her hand on his. She could feel the terror clawing its way up through his telepathic barriers. “I’m afraid of this perfume Mum has. It--there was this mission with Mickey. Things went south,” she shared as he turned to regard her. “The creatures, the aliens, they smelled like her perfume.”

“Big orange things with more fangs then brains?” 

“Mm hmm.”

“I knew I knew that smell,” the Doctor muttered to himself. 

“I get it, I mean, I don’t know what you’re feeling but it’s--valid,” Rose said, repeating what her UNIT appointed psychiatrist had told her. Rose had done a few sessions before just tossing all of Mum’s perfume then buying the company and discontinuing the scent. Bit overkill for peace of mind. “Tell you later what I did to stop smelling that smell. What can I do?”

The Doctor gripped her hand almost painfully. “Distract me.”

“Okay, yeah, I can… Why don’t we,” she slipped half into his seat and wrapped his arm around her. “Good. Now lean down and smell my hair. C’mon, if the scent is bad in here, I should smell good, comforting like you do to me. Go on.”

The arm around her tightened. The Doctor tilted his head and buried his nose in her hair. His arms twitched as he relaxed. Rose took a hit of his scent too while they were close. The scent of Time wasn’t dissipating. It was still a part of him, deep down in the skin. Looser and looser, the Doctor sank down into his seat. Legs stretching out, toes uncurling, the Doctor pulled her closer. Rose let him and found herself in a delightful cuddle. “Gonna have to stay this way for the entire flight,” he whispered into her hair.

“Fine by me,” she murmured.  
“Mm,” he agreed. “Want to tell me what evil fate befell Jackie’s perfume bottles?”

“They tragically ended up in the rubbish tip,” she murmured rearranging herself to fit more comfortably against him. “The company decided to make banana scented things instead.”

“Oh,” he drawled out with obvious relish. 

“Would it--Do you think it would help if we continued?” she asked.

“It would give us something to do and occupy my frankly magnificent if overactive at the moment brain.” the Doctor said, one hand releasing to slide up through her hair to her temples. Rose shivered. “Ready?”

Rose was heating up. If they were going to cling to one another, the Doctor wasn’t the only one who was going to need a distraction. The hand still holding her to him flexed and Rose shivered. He made a few lazy circles before sliding it up under the fabric to touch warm skin. 

“Ready.”

“Allons-y.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just supposed to be an intro to Track 3: Hurt but it turned into a fluffy little interlude with vague references to Midnight. Why not use it as an excuse to cuddle?


	5. Track 3: Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose wakes up from an injury.

“That’s it, open your eyes,” an American woman was saying. Her voice was pleasant, soothing until she shouted, “Doctor! Come quick. I think she’s waking up!”

Doctor? Rose’s head felt like it had been ground up and dunked in water. She blinked a few times to clear grit, her eyes practically glued together. A warm flannel was pressed over them, gently cleaning the lashes. “It’s okay, you’re safe,” the American woman said.

Rose focused on her light brown eyes. They were full of concern. Rose thought she had nice eyes, friendly, and warm. She was beautiful too with her button nose and wavy dark brown hair. Thin and pale, she was wearing a red blouse with a plunging neckline and an adorable white umbrella print. Rose opened her mouth to speak only to have a straw placed at her lips. She sipped, coughing a little. Spasms racked her whole body. Every nerve ending screamed in outrage. Rose grunted.

“Right, sorry, sorry, he said if you woke up before he got back to give you this purple pill.” She offered the pill. Rose opened her mouth. It looked a lot like the pills the Doctor handed out liberally whenever she or Jack had gotten a raging hangover. A pang of longing washed through her for those days. The pill dissolved in a hint of jam taking her pain with it. Rose sank down into the sheets. The woman smiled kindly. “There you go. I took one of those the last time he got into one of his lecture moods… Okay, I’m going to go see what’s keeping the doctor.”

“Wait,” Rose croaked. “What happened...me?”

“Um,” the woman cut herself off, “I-I- you were kind of, well not kind of, you were, you just sort of appeared in the middle of a war zone and got shot. But it’s okay, the doctor patched you up. He’ll kill me if I don’t tell him you’re awake. We’ve been waiting a week...oops. Pretend I didn’t say that, huh? Oh man,” she stood up. “Listen, I’ll be right back. You’re safe. I promise.”

“Who?”

“Oh, right. Peri,” she tapped her chest, “I’m Peri.”

“Rose.”

Peri grinned. “We know. Rest now.”

Rose faded in and out. The pill had taken away all the pain and none of the exhaustion. Her body felt like lead. Speaking had almost been too much. She glanced down at her body to see where she’d been hit. A sheet was pulled up under her armpits. She felt that odd sensation creep up when you realize you are completely naked. “Just the sheet then…”

Falling back, she listened for Peri to slipping back into the room. Her ears, no, her body, no… no, it was in her head. She was hearing… “Tardis?” Rose felt a welcoming warmth trickling into her. There was a flash of worry and reassurance and comfort. Overwhelmed, Rose felt a few tears trickle out of the corners of her eyes. She was home. The Tardis agreed heartily, the lights around her dimming and then brightening.

“Well, I was calibrating the fluid links! It’s not my fault I couldn’t hear your bellow from underneath the console!” A booming, cranky male voice complained. “Besides, the Tardis already let me know that’s why I was in the hall. I can feel her singing.”

“Who Rose?” Peri asked, confused.

“No, the Tardis. She’s pleased that the girl has woken up. She doesn’t normally take too much notice of you lot.” 

Rose’s heart sank. If that was the Doctor’s voice than she wasn’t in the right time again. This was yet another incarnation of him. Peri had known her name, the Tardis was here and she still wasn’t where she needed to be. Rose huffed. It was getting harder to keep hope when she kept missing her own time by miles. The Tardis hummed merrily.

“Hallo, how is our patient doing this fine morning?” he asked.

“No morning on the Tardis, Doctor,” she croaked.

Peri laughed. “Oh wow, I like her already.”

“Yes, well, she’s right. There’s no time at all on a Tardis. I just thought it sounded better than ‘how was the coma?’ How was the coma, Rose?” he asked.

Rose’s eyes widened. She tried to sit up, scream about her cannon, and her mission and her…”

“Now, now, don’t worry. I’ve recalibrated your ‘dimensional hopper,’” He explained, thickly emphasizing ‘dimensional hopper.’ “You have a day or two left,” soothed, the robust man with a head of unruly blonde curls as he slid into view. His blue eyes were bright, shrewd and curious. Rose got a hit of that bookstore shop and strange engine oils that she liked so much. He was the Doctor alright. “I feel I ought to tell you that it’s a very irresponsible mode of traveling through the dimensions. You should be in a capsule, young lady.”

“Don’t be such a nag,” Rose muttered.

Peri barked out a laugh. “I like her even more now.”

“Tough crowd,” he remarked to Peri who giggled. “I‘m going to be the bigger Timelord here since you were injured,” he said, sniffing indignantly. “Now before you go getting all worried, I’ve spoken to your ‘Control’ and I told that woman you were injured and she threatened me.”

Rose chuckled. “Sounds like my mum.”

“Yes, your mother is…”

“Be nice,” Peri warned.

“Protective,” the Doctor finished, making a face.

Rose gave him a smile. He smiled back. He slipped his hand into hers, sliding up to check her pulse. Rose enjoyed the cool touch a bit too much. He smirked as if catching the stray thought. 

“Now, you are very lucky we happened to be saving the world in your general vicinity…” he began only to be interrupted by Peri scoffing. “Oh alright, I was very lucky you appeared when you did. You saved my life. Thank you.”

Rose beamed. The Doctor’s cheeks flushed. Peri snorted. “Quiet,” he hissed at her. Peri did not quiet, she snorted again, louder this time. “You’ll have to excuse her, she finds this entire experience dripping in incredulity.” The Doctor dripped his own words in sarcasm. Peri ignored it, obviously used to him.

Rose moved to sit up. The Doctor wrapped an arm around her, helping her shift so she was sitting up. The weight in her limbs was lessening. It was a relief to be more mobile. He sat back to regard her. “How’s your head?”

“Mushy.”

“Vision?”

“Mm, normal? There’s only four of you, right?”

“Very amusing, Miss Tyler.” the Doctor said, pulling a penlight from his pocket and checking her eyes. “Pupils are normal and reactive. Muscle weakness? Headache? Spots?”

“Yes. Yes. No.” Rose was enjoying his proximity. 

“Good,” he drawled. He hit a pad on the edge of the bed, and Rose felt the Tardis run a passive scan. “Another hour before you can try standing, alright? No acrobatics for another ten. Rest is what you need. Rest and lunch?”

Rose’s stomach grumbled. 

“Peri, there’s a meal in the stasis booth behind you. Enough for three. Grab that for me?” He turned back to stare at Rose. “Extraordinary.”

“What’s so incredulous about this whole thing?” Rose asked as the Doctor handed her a what turned out to be sweetened iced tea. 

“You fell right into the middle of a battlefield in the middle of one of his speeches!” Peri exclaimed, handing out sandwiches. “He was booming, ‘There’s got to be a better way to solve this conflict than cannons!’ And blamo! They shot at him and you appeared in front of him like a human shield. It was awesome!” Peri enthused. “S-s-sorry you got shot though… But you saved his dumb life.”

“I could have gotten through to them,” the Doctor muttered wistfully, “another moment or two… If Erikson hadn’t decided to shoot at me. The villain!”

“The Leklens killed his mom. He apologized!” Peri argued. “He even let us use that tank thing. You were in purple goo for like a day.”

“Ew,” Rose muttered.

“Yeah, it was real gross,” Peri enthused. “Like ectoplasm. You know? Like in Ghostbusters.”

“Take her to one movie… and it’s all she talks about,” the Doctor grumbled.

“You glowed a bit,” Peri added.

“Peri!” 

“She did! I saw it. Right before the beam hit you. You glowed a bit golden and then you crumpled. I thought you were toast!” Peri took a big bite out of her sandwich chewing with relish.

“Americans,” the Doctor muttered.

“And that’s not what I can’t believe,” Peri added as the Doctor turned a bit pink. “I can’t believe that you and he are you know, an item.”

“Peri!” the Doctor admonished.

“S’what you told me. You sensed it or whatever. It’s why you didn’t tell her mother who you were. He’s chicken. Thought she might kill him. But he doesn’t… You don’t…” Peri trailed off, waving a hand in a vaguely lewd gesture. “Well, you don’t!” she shouted when he scoffed.

Rose giggles. “What don’t you do Doctor?”

“Rose,” he drawled. “You’ve traveled with me. You’re brimming with artron energy and I remember you. You and I have met before at a party… for UNIT? I must have hidden the memory. But you and I, we…”

“Nope. I don’t believe it. He doesn’t do that. He never has while I’ve been around and I’ve been around a long time now.” Peri smirked.

“Do I tell you everything?” The Doctor demanded, indignant.

“No, you never tell me anything unless it’s useless facts about gumblejacks…”

“It’s a fish, very good eating,” the Doctor said in an aside to Rose. “And YOU never listen. That’s why you never know anything about me.”

“All I do is listen,” Peri bemoaned, eyes twinkling. “Alright, tell me, who have you dated?”

The Doctor flustered and sweating a bit glanced at Rose and then back at Peri. “I-I ah, freely admit some of my regenerations are more… amorously inclined than others.”

Rose giggled. Peri muttered, “Yeah right.”

“Ah! YES! Yes, you’ve met one of my paramours.” the Doctor announced.

Rose’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair. “Who?”

“Yeah, who? The only other you I’ve met, well, other than the nicer version of you-”

The Doctor scoffed. Peri patted his arm to show she was kidding and he was mollified.

“Wait… Jamie? Really? He was… well, a he.” Peri said.

Rose burst out laughing. The Doctor was beet red now. “Peri! All the traveling we do and that’s the issue you take with it?”

Peri laughed. “No, of course not! It’s cute! Jamie was hot. He wore a kilt,” she told Rose.

“Hush, I seem to recall a certain Pharaoh we traveled with who spent an awful lot of time in your room.”

Peri blushed. “Oh, we were, Erimem and I, she and I were… Shut up!”

Rose was going to die laughing. Great big belly laughs escaped her. The Doctor watched her, faking stern with his twinkly eyes. “My love life amuses her.”

“I’m not convinced you have one, yet. Maybe you regenerate into a real Romeo in the future.” Peri finished her sandwich. 

“Tall thin, great hair,” Rose said, “really great hair, not that I’m not loving the blonde curls.”

A yawn escaped Peri. “No offense Rose, but I am going to take a nap. Been watching you for days. Good to meet you. Glad you’re awake. See you later, Doc.”

A long-suffering sigh escaped him. “Don’t call me ‘Doc.’ Insufferable girl!”

Peri hugged him. The Doctor hugged her back. Peri disappeared with a wave.

“You’re a marshmallow,” Rose muttered, leaning back against her pillows.

He harrumphed, sliding his hand into hers and squeezing. Rose’s heart eased. He was always home to her. He glanced at her sharply. “Can you hear my thoughts?”

“No, not as such,” the Doctor murmured. “Just your emotions a bit, leaking through the barriers. It’s not unpleasant, just surprising.”

“Because this regeneration isn’t as ‘amorously inclined’ as others?” she teased.

He smiled softly. “Something like that.”

They sat in comfortable silence for several moments, drinking one another in. “Rose,” he began, voice hesitant. “You were talking in your sleep.”

A frizzle of fear slipped down her spine. “Oh?”

“You mentioned stars going out,” he said, “and needing to find me, not this me, I’m assuming?”

“Sorry, no. I think he, my Doctor is a bit farther into your future.”

“The Byronic hero or the one in the Panama hat? Nooo, couldn’t be the one in the hat. He’s… No.” the Doctor shook his head. “The one in the velvet frock coat?”

“No, he’s sort of pinstriped.” 

The Doctor made a face. “I like pinstripes. Never met him. He has yet to be as far as I am concerned. I know the next two after me and the previous ones of course… We meet from time to time. In the direst of circumstances…”

“Because you irritate yourself?”

“Yes,” he chuckled. “I am hard to get on with.”

“No you’re not,” Rose replied.

“Very kind,” he murmured. “Rose? What did you mean when you said… Time War.”

Rose froze solid. “You can’t know.”

“Oh, I can forget…”

“No, not this, you can never forget.” Rose stared hard at this younger Doctor, feeling nothing but sympathy. “It’s far in your future I think. Nothing to worry about.”

He nodded, resigned. “Yes, I quite understand. Rest now.” He patted her hand before withdrawing.

Rose didn’t want to be left alone. But he must have used a hypnotic suggestion in his touch because Rose was drifting off before she could form a protest. When her eyes popped open a while later, she was alone. Voices told her that Peri and the Doctor were nearby, in the corridor? She was more alert. She noticed her room had white walls with glowing round things recessed into them. It vaguely resembled the medbay. 

“She was just dreaming,” Peri was whispering.

“I don’t think she was,” the Doctor argued, tone low. “She said they were all dead.”

“That’s crazy! The Timelords are all-powerful. Nothing could bump them off easily.”

“I can think of one species that can and would do,” the Doctor said incensed.

“The Daleks,” Peri agreed. “Yeah, but now that you know, you can stop it, right?”

“No, I can’t! My hands are tied. Rose is from my future. Don’t you see? That’s why she won’t tell me. She’s a good time traveler. She knows it could cause a paradox.”

“What will you do?” 

“Nothing. That’s all I can do.” the Doctor said mournfully.

“You can’t just let your people die,” Peri shouted.

“Shh!! I’m sure my future selves will sort it all out…”

“No, you’re not.”

“No,” he agreed, “I’m not.”

He entered the room with a breakfast tray. Rose took in his plaid waistcoat, white button-down, plaid suspenders and yellow pinstripe trousers. “How did I not notice your outfit yesterday?” 

“I know, you can see those hideous pants from space. Wait until you see his coat,” Peri said hopping up onto the edge of the bed. “How ya feeling?”

“Like I need to get up,” Rose said meaningfully. Peri laughed and looped Rose’s arm around her neck to help her into the en suite. They tucked the sheet around her like a toga. She came back out to the Doctor's fidgeting. “Out with it.”

“I’ve helped you a bit,” the Doctor said, holding up her recall disc. 

“Doctor-”

“I know. I know! I can’t help myself. Your settings would keep you jumping randomly forever. I made some minor modifications to narrow down the jumps to a time closer to your own. I’ve also added an algorithm that will pick Tardis timelines, narrowing it farther. It would help if you had a Tardis to coordinate with but needs must.” He handed it back to her.

“Thank you,” Rose took it and looped it around her neck. Since she was standing on her own, she tottered into the Doctor’s embrace. He hugged back and Rose was reminded that he gave really great hugs. He squished her a bit before releasing her. He kept her hands on his forearms so she could use him to balance.

“You did save my life. It’s the least I can do if you’re going to go on to save the entire Universe.”

“Enough of the heavy stuff,” Peri grumbled. “She’s got twenty-hours left. Think you can take us shopping? Or we could get pizza!”

“Philistine.” 

The memory cut off abruptly as the zeppelin dipped a bit. The Doctor was startled and his fingers slipped breaking the connection. Rose turned to regard him. “Alright?”

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t remember any of that. I have a really strange craving for pineapple on pizza though…Oh and those fried jalapenos.”

“California,” Rose murmured. “We got pizza in Malibu… It’s sorta trickling back in. You got mistaken for a busker...The Tardis got a ticket. Images slipped past. I didn’t remember any of that either until now. I remember getting home and Mum was strange. I was put off of the rotation for a week. I was furious. Mum she, didn’t budge. Said the doctor said a week, no less.” Rose beamed. “She meant you, the sneaky old thing!”

The Doctor grinned. 

Jackie appeared as if summoned by her name. “We’ve got another hour on this thing. Oof, I miss planes. Can’t say traveling by blimp is all that efficient. You alright? Both of you just been cuddled up here. Thought you’d be talking or…”

The zeppelin dipped again. The Doctor grabbed her hand and peeked out the window. “We’re alright, Jackie. In fact, we were top-notch a minute ago.” 

Rose snorted. “We’re fine Mum, just tired.”

“When we get home, you’ll get all the rest you need. No world-saving for a bit, alright? Give your mother a break, sweetheart. You too, you could use some feeding up and a bit of mothering.” Jackie reached out and patted the Doctor. He enjoyed it for half a second before recoiling. He glanced at Rose to see if she had caught him out and Rose smirked.

“I’m assuming London will be invaded ten minutes after I arrive.”

“Oh, four, surely,” Rose agreed.

“You two!!” Exasperated, the two were left alone.

“Peri, she, it didn’t end well for her…” the Doctor muttered. “Or it did? I have several sets of memories for that…”

“Believe in the good one, Doctor,” Rose advised.

“Yeah.”


	6. Track 4: Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last memory and a heart to heart.

“I don’t live here,” Rose whispered in his ear as they entered the mansion. His eyebrows went up. “Only, you were looking a bit worried and I thought, ‘Oh, he’s forgotten and is afraid I live with Mum and he’s going to have to live with Mum and there are an awful lot of carpets here.’ Thought I’d remind you that I don’t live here.”

“Oh,” he breathed glancing down anxiously at the carpets. “Do you--”

“I’ve got hardwood floors.”

“That’s alright then,” he murmured as the tension drained out of him. “I didn’t want to be rude.”

“Liar.”

“Alright, I didn’t want to be homeless my first night in a new universe,” he murmured in her ear. His palm was a bit clammy where it gripped hers. “You know me and mums, they ah,” he trailed off, tugging an ear.

“Slap you?” Rose whispered back as Jackie turned to glare at them. 

“Rose has a flat,” Jackie announced tersely. “But Tony hasn’t seen either of us in a week. He’s asleep by now,” she worried. “I don’t suppose there’s any real point in offering you your own room?” she asked the Doctor.

“Oh, I could kip anywhere, a sofa, a pool float, a low wall…” he began enthusiastically.

Rose shook her head. “I’ve got him. He’s fine, Mum.”

The new Doctor flashed her an interested look. “I don’t want to impose if it’s too soon, or you don’t want...If it’s too soon or weird or--” he stopped talking when Jackie cleared her throat. He stepped behind Rose. “I didn’t mean… we…” Helplessly, he kneaded her shoulders.

“We agreed to a fortnight in eyesight...” Rose remarked. “Your memory is terrible…”

“It’s not my memory,” the Doctor muttered as his eyes darted around.

“Still daft, is he?” Jackie asked with amusement. 

Taking pity on him, Rose told her mother, “Leave him alone. We’re too tired for anything your dirty mind is going to imply, Mum. He’s new.”

“Mint condition,” he reminded her. 

“Right, in mint condition,” she agreed and glared at her mother continued, “I want him kept in mint condition, ya hear me? No slapping.”

“I wasn’t implying anything, sweetheart. He hasn’t done anything to earn a slap...yet,” Jackie kissed his cheek and whispered something in his ear. The Doctor turned beet red. His expression was a mix of pleased and revolted as Jackie Tyler rolled her eyes at Rose. 

Rose started walking. “Ignore her. You can meet Tony tomorrow and I’ll show you my, erm, flat,” Rose stumbled almost saying ‘our’ flat. She didn’t want to pressure him.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Your place would be better than Jackie’s place… Do I ah, need my own place? Nope, no, nevermind. Too soon to answer that one. With the talking and the reuniting and the sleeping and talking and--”

Rose slapped a hand over his mouth. “Our flat then. Yours for two years rent-free… Then I’m turfing you out.”

He snorted and murmured something too low for her to hear. If she had to guess it was, “In two years we won’t need a little flat.”

“Have to warn you, it has curtains and doors.”

He made a disgruntled sound. Rose laughed then whipped her hand away. “Ugh! You licked me!”

“Wanted to earlier when you covered my mouth,” he replied, grinning.

“You’re such a child,” Rose grumbled, smirking at him. Every minute spent with him felt like old times. Rose felt her own tension easing. Being with the Doctor had always felt natural as breathing. It was everything else that had been difficult. “This is me, us.”

She opened the door for him and ushered him in. He kicked off his shoes immediately to leap onto her bed. He gave it a few bounces to make the headboard rock against the wall in a parody of lewdness. Rose glared. “My mother is down the hall.”

“I know,” he teased bouncing a few more times before flopping down on his back. “Your bed is comfy. Perfect place for one last memory…” 

Rose kicked her own shoes off. She shrugged her way out of her leather jacket and climbed up onto the bed to flop down beside him. “One more?

He nodded. “Mm-mm, one single memory left. Shame, I like remembering my old personalities. That scarf-wearing one was fun, wasn’t he? Do you think I can get drunk on ginger still? I’d quite like to eat more gingerbread cookies…”

“You don’t know?” Rose asked, taking her earrings out and plopping them on the nightstand.

He shook his head, “New, new, new Doctor, new new new rules,” he cocked his head to the side considering his change in biology, “still, can’t be that different. Tastebuds feel the same? Second stomach is still there…”

“A second stomach? Of course, you have a second one…” Rose rolled over onto her stomach, pillowing her head on her arms. “That’s why you ate all the toast…and jam and my last two birthday cakes!”

“You only wanted the frosting!” He rolled his eyes. “I’m down a kidney,” he remarked, making a face. “I feel,” he dragged the word out like taffy, “mostly the same.”

“How do you feel different?” Rose asked as he settled down next to her, rolling up and leaning his head against his palm.

“The heart… feels wrong. The beat is slower and lonely. Everything else is fizzy,” the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. “When I licked you I could tell that you were dehydrated, your temperature is up by two degrees and you are exhausted.”

“Great,” she drawled.

“It is great! My magnificent tastebuds remain magnificent,” he enthused and gave her a once over. “I like licking things.”

She slapped at him. “Terrible!”

He giggled. “Donna’s fault. She read every bodice ripper ever made.” The Doctor made a disgusted face then reconsidered.

“C’mon,” Rose reached out and he snuggled up against her. 

He hummed happily as he wrapped his long arms around her. “Ah, much better, two hearts again!”

Touched, she let him snuggle for a bit before she reminded him about the memory. Enthusiastically, he reached out to touch her temples. Wisps of happy pinks and golds and blues sparkled around her like fireflies. She tried to send the same enthusiasm back. He beamed. 

Once settled into one another’s minds, he whispered a word and Rose stepped into a wood-paneled office.

“Control,” Rose called out. “I’m in a principal’s office? I think? Or at least a teacher’s…” The air was thick with the scent of tea, books, ink, and biscuits.

“Twenty minutes, Rose, any sign of the Tardis?” Pete asked.

Rose surveyed the room. There was a desk with several sonic screwdrivers in a cup. “Looks promising, there’s some alien tech here.”

“Alright Rose, no time for sight-seeing on this one love, move fast,” Pete reminded her and cut the link.

Rose examined the desk. There were framed photos of a young girl with dark hair and big eyes in 60s kit and a blonde elegant woman with laughing eyes in the picture opposite her. Rose liked her immediately. She looked like a woman who wanted to get into trouble. Rose saluted the woman as she rooted through the cup of sonics, finding the one she was familiar with. Stealing it, she slipped it into a pocket before turning around. There was a record player with several familiar bands, Ian Dury was on the player.

A wind kicked up in the room. Rose felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. The key she wore warmed against her skin. The screeching, grinding brilliant sound of the Tardis materializing filled the room. Rose felt like her heart was going to burst. It had to be the right him now. The cannon had been getting her closer for weeks. She had even seen him for a second when these adorable aliens had been floating up through the sky. This was her time. This was her Doctor. She was here for sure this time.

The Tardis settled with a thump. Rose’s heart leaped into her mouth. The door opened and a young woman walked out backward. She was a slim black girl, tall and pretty in high waisted jeans and a Prince Tee. “And then he says, ‘what sort of bird are you?’ And you, you idiot, you just had to say, ‘Big’ as in BigBird from Sesame Place? You had to know I’d break character then! You nearly got us beheaded--” She spun around and spotted Rose. Her eyes were wide as saucers. “Doctor.”

“Yes,” a gruff, Scottish sounding voice replied with amusement, “I couldn’t resist. It was there! And I couldn’t help myself… Besides, you started it, Oscar, the--”

“Doctor,” the young woman said again. “There’s someone in your office,” she stage whispered.

Rose arched a brow. The young woman arched hers back and gave her a once over worthy of Jack. Rose smirked. The young woman smiled back. From within the Tardis, the gruff voice asked, “Is it Nardole in a wig? He’s very sensitive about his invisible hair.”

“No, it’s, she’s a blonde,” Bill called. “A hot blonde, a very hot blonde. Hi, I’m Bill. This is a decorative closet,” she said pointing at the Tardis. “And we, well, we were um, just getting pencils, right Doctor? Out of the closet--that is decorative. This is not strange at all.”

“Yes,” the voice inside rumbled, “Sorry, Bill, there aren’t any more pencils in there, just pens…” The Doctor said playing along. Rose suppressed the urge to giggle. He pulled the doors shut, locking them before turning around to face her.

Rose knew right away from his voice that he wasn’t the right one. He was tall, Scottish sounding, with lovely wild silver hair and musician's hands. She was ready to put a brave face on when he did a double-take. His entire presence swelled. He was somehow taller, looming, his eyes fixed on hers, a soft smile playing around the edges of his mouth. “Bill, this is Rose Tyler. Rose, this is Bill Potts. Bill, she ah, she well, you know, travels with me.”

“Hi,” Rose said to the room but her eyes were magnetized to his.  
The Doctor’s expression was intense as he drank her in. This was a later Doctor. A Doctor that knew her. And she wasn’t with him. Either she had failed, or they had had their time together and she was… Rose swallowed all that down as he stared at her, blue eyes warming.

“That closet sure looks like a type 40 Tardis,” Rose teased. “Friend of mine stole one of those once.” 

Shyly, he hugged an elbow. “Yeah, that can happen. I once blew up a friend’s job to get a date.”

Rose laughed.

Bill glanced between them, eyes getting wider all the time as she drawled, “What? No. Are you like actually flirting right now? With her?” She turned to Rose. “With him? Unbelievable.”

“How long have you got, Rose?” the Doctor asked, “before Pete drags you back to Pete’s world.”

“Fifteen minutes now.”

A sigh escaped him. “Never enough time.”

Rose dove into his arms, surprising Bill so much that she took a step backward. The Doctor surprised Bill more by wrapping himself around Rose. Rose didn’t notice anything but the scent of him then, so tantalizing familiar. He picked her up and swung her around a bit.

“Is nobody going to tell me the story behind this?” Bill asked.

“No,” the Doctor told her. “Later. Go away now.”

“Right, okay, bye Rose.” She gave Rose another flattering appraisal before the Doctor glared at her. Rose waved as Bill went to the door. She left and Rose would be money the girl was leaning against the door listening. 

The Doctor let her go but not completely. “Let’s speed things up, so we can get it all in. I know where you are in your timeline. Give me the recall disc.” 

Rose handed it over and he sonicked it. “There you are. Next jump will be the big one. I’ll be waiting. Take a big gun. Take the biggest gun you have.” 

“I did reach you,” Rose said with relief, “in time?”

“Yes, Rose Tyler,” he said softly, “you found me right on time.” His smile lit up her insides.

They stared at one another until he covered his mouth in a slow show of distress. “Oh, this, why couldn’t this moment get the four hours or the week? Rose, I have so much to… No, it doesn’t matter now.” he turned his back for a minute. “Another face can handle that… I have to… I always get the worst parts.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked, drawing closer to him. 

“You young lady, have been bumping into younger versions of me and causing all sorts of heartbreak. Each and every one charmed,” he said with mock disdain.

“And you? Aren’t you charmed?” Rose asked, trying not to get excited. The next jump… he said the next jump. 

“Oh, completely, tremendously, desperately charmed. You’re Rose Marion Tyler. I couldn't help myself. I’ve always been susceptible to your charms. A sucker for that smile of yours. A goner for it. You’re so brave and jeopardy friendly. It was like traveling with Calamity Jane.” He reached out to cup her cheek. “That was so long ago now.” He studied her face.

“Me?” she barked out a laugh. “Who saved who from the Daleks? Who saved who on that space station? You get into trouble ordering chips.” Rose leaned into his hand. 

“I do manage to get into the most ridiculous situations. Ah, maybe we both attracted a bit of chaos in our day.” 

“Did it all turn out alright?”

“Of course, we saved the day. We saved all the days because we saved the Universe! We had a little help,” he said, grimacing. “You’ll find out all about him soon enough.” He let out a sigh.

Her watch beeped. 

“Five-minute warning, right, hurry up Doctor,” the Doctor grumbled. “Oh, there’s never enough time!” He pulled her in for another hug. “I’m going to block this memory for you Rose, and a few others that might interfere with your future. You’ll get them back when you need them. Do you trust me?”

“Always.”

“Wow, no pressure,” he teased. “I’m also going to have to go back in time and muck about with my own memories… You’re an awful lot of work, you know.”

“I’m worth it.” Rose said, clinging to him.

He snorted, not disagreeing.

“Are you happy?” Rose asked, cutting through his nervous chatter. “I know...I know I must be um, dead by now. Were we happy?”

“Rose, yes, I’m alright, I’m even sometimes less grumpy and almost cheery...sometimes.” He winked. “You’ve met Bill. She keeps me out--no, she doesn’t. She attracts trouble too.”

“You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“No. Stop asking questions! I can’t tell you your future.” 

“So? Tell me yours. Did you move on?” 

His eyes flicked to the picture on the desk. “Yes. And no. And that’s it. No more spoilers. I have work to do and precious little time to do it in.”

“You’re going to erase anything you say,” Rose argued, feeling a flash of annoyance with him. “C’mon, you can say anything you want to me than just delete it. Be brave.” Rose’s mouth went dry. 

“I’m only blocking them, not erasing them…” he muttered. “And you know more than anyone that I choose coward every time…” He drew her closer to him until they were breathing the same air. 

Rose huffed. “Stop running away. This is the last time you’re going to see me, probably. I might die in the big battle. Or not,” she trailed off.

“Fishing for spoilers again? You are relentless.” he pulled away, folding his hands together, gathering his thoughts. 

Her watch beeped. “Thirty seconds, Doctor, now or never.”

His fingers uncurled reaching to her temples. “I could never deny you anything.” 

Rose felt the Doctor’s mind brush up gently against hers. She imagined inviting him in. His thoughts slip and sifted through hers looking for the memories he needed to hide. The colors were rich dark navy and a lovely royal purple sliding down into indigo then darkness as Rose felt parts of herself locking away. She gripped his biceps.

He counted down as he tidied up her mind. “The last memory, the one we’re making right now will vanish when you do.”

“Make it good,” she dared.

He whispered in her ear.

The Doctor gave her a little shake. “Rose, Rose it’s okay, I’m here. I’m here.”

A sob escaped her and she clutched her new new new Doctor. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

Rose gave into the tears as the memories cemented themselves back into place. The Doctor’s eyes were wet too with worry as he tried to comfort her. Rose could tell he hadn’t gotten any of the memory from the confusing swirl of his thoughts weaving in and around hers. Rose squeezed him before letting go to wipe ineffectively at her tears. 

“What did you see? Did he upset you?” The Doctor’s eyes grew hard. “I’ll go back to that universe and kick my own--” Rose put a finger to his lips. He stilled.

“I’m fine. I didn’t expect…” she trailed off. “I didn’t expect him to ever say it.”

“Say what?” he asked, clinging to her a bit.

Rose dashed more tears out of her eyes. “He said goodbye.”

“Right, I’ve said goodbye to you before…” the Doctor said, his adorable face confused.

“No, he ah, whispered it in my ear, just like you did, on the beach…” Rose trailed off. “He did love me.”

“Don’t be stupid,” the Doctor growled.

Rose stared.

“Of course he loves you. I’ve always loved you.” The new new new Doctor said in exasperation.

“Well, sometimes it needs saying, alright!” she shouted.

The Doctor closed his mouth. He looked devastated. “I can’t take you back to him. The walls are sealed. I can leave if you want. I can--”

“Why would you leave?” Rose asked.

“If I remind you but I’m not…enough--”

“No, no, no,” Rose protested as he tried to leave the bed. She dragged him back down. “He still left me.”

“Rose, the Doctor, any of those Doctors, their first loyalty has to be to the universe.” He began.

“And you gave that up?”

“Not completely, I still plan on protecting my new universe…” he said.

“And you stayed…” Rose added.

“Because he left me here…” the Doctor answered unable to meet her eyes.

“Would you have chosen me?” Rose asked.

“Yes, yes, every time!” he exploded. “You have no idea what it was like for me! I spent so much time wishing you were with me. There wasn’t a chance in hell that I wasn’t going with you.”

“You gave up space and time for me,” Rose said, choking on a fresh flood of tears. She felt a flood of guilt for that. He’d clipped his wings for her.

“No, I didn’t,” he blurted. Rose sat up straight. “I would have. Easy. Or we could have stolen a spaceship or built one if we wanted. I’m a genius.”

“You gave up the Tardis.”

“Yeah, I gave her up. But I didn’t give up the universe or anything for you. I gained you.”

Rose wiped away her tears at his distress. “But you chose to stay here…”

“In this universe… But I didn’t choose between the universe and you. I didn’t have to do that… I’m not exactly as selfless as him.” He reached into his left-hand pocket, searching again. “I mean sure, he had to make a choice between you and the universe. I was under no such obligation. I wanted you, of course, I did. More than anything,” he paused glowing with warmth, “He chose the universe. I chose both.” Triumphantly he pulled a piece of something that looked an awful lot like the organic parts of the Tardis. “As for the Tardis… well, we’ll just grow our own.”

“Oh, you crafty thing,” Rose said and took the little Tardis cutting. “I love you,” she cooed at the cutting.

“And me?” the new new new Doctor asked hopefully.

“Yeah, you too.”

“Him too,” the Doctor said looking out the window.

“Yeah of course. Is that a problem?”

“No, he’s me. Bit mad to be jealous of a man I was less than twenty-four hours ago. And if the memories did anything, they proved that every version of me that meets you falls in love with you.” The Doctor replied, eyes soft and gooey.

“Oh, now I know you’re human,” Rose teased. “You’re all sappy and sentimental. It’s a bit domestic,” she drawled.

He fell back against the pillows. “I’m dead. Kill me now. I like the domestics? Oh, no, I can’t…Oi, not human, never all human.”

“Human enough,” Rose teased.

“Just human enough,” he agreed. “Still mostly alien though… that alright?”

“Yeah.” Rose agreed easily reaching out to mess up his hair.

“Yeah?” He asked reaching out to return the favor.

Giggling, Rose Tyler said, “Yeah, but two stomachs?”

“Ask me what else I’ve got two of.”

Rose hit him with a pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun with this one. It was for DWSecretSanta and it was supposed to be a one-shot but like most of my ideas, it evolved into a whole world.


End file.
